Wardrobe trunk



Oct. 6, 1925- C. R. LINDENBERG WARDROBE TRUNK Filed Aug. 18. 1 4

Patented Oct. 6, 1925 UNITED STATES 1,556,154 PATENT OFFICE.

CARL R. LINDENBERG OF COLUMBUS, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE INDESTRUCTO TRUNK COMPANY, OF COLUMBUS, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

WARDROBE TRUNK.

Application filed August 18,1924. Serial No. 732,647.

To'aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CARL R. LINDENBERG,

a citi'zenof the United States, residing at Columbus, in the county of Franklin and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements 'in Wardrobe Trunks, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in wardrobe trunks and has for its primary object the provision of means in a trunk of this character wherein the wardrobe section of a trunk will be braced and straightened so that when the two sections of the trunk are brought into registering relation the locking elements carried by the sections will be properly registered to permitof their convenient and intended cooperation.

In the manufacture of wardrobe trunks it is customary to provide at least one of the sections, commonly known as the wardhinged and is movable to an elevated posi tion opening the top of the trunk, it follows;

that the trunk sides are to some extent left insupported and weakened'because of the absence of an effective transverse tie. This has resulted in the bulging or bowing of the sides when the trunk is permitted to stand open for any len th of time, with the result that when it is desired to again lock the two sections of the trunk together, difficulty has been had in causing the locking elements of the trunk to properly register. Therefore, it is the prime object of the present invention to provide the wardrobe section of the trunk with an improved fastening device concealed in a swinging door or closure member which is of such construction that when the door is closed the two sides of the trunk will be joined together and pulled into proper registration, preventing the sagging of the trunk sides as previously noted and enabling the trunk to be properly locked without difiiculty.

With these and other objects in view, as will appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists in the novel features of construction, combinations of elements and arrangemets of parts hereinafter to be fully described and pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a perspective view Guevararobe trunk constructed inaccordance with the present invention,

Figure 2 1s a horizontal sectional view cated by the line 22 of Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a front elevation disclosing my improved door construction, and

Figure at is a vertical section-taken on the line 4.-4 of Figure 3. Q

Referring more particularly t'o the specificdetails' of the invention, the numeral 1 designates a wardrobe trunk in its entirety. This trunk consists of' the usual wardrobe section 2 and the drawer contaim ing section 3. These sections are united as usual'by means of hinges so that when the trunk is'closed thesaid sections may he taken through the trunk on the plane 'indiunited by means of the ordinary locking device 4. 7 When in use as an articleof furni ture, the trunk is set on end as shown in Figure 1, and the two vsections are opened so that convenient access may be had to the contents of both sections of the trunk.- The wardrobe section is formed to include the usual sides 5, a bottom 6 and a hinged top 7 which is capable of being swung to assume the elevated position, disclosed in Figure 1 so that when the door, 8 of the wardrobe section is swung-to assume an open position convenient access maybe had to the garments carried upon hangers situated within the wardrobe section.

This construction of the trunk is very desirable for the purpose specified, but since the hinged cover or top 7 does not function to support the sides 5 when the top is elevated there exists in the trunk a certain structural weakness which it is the purpose of this invention to overcome. It will be seen that when the top 7 is elevated there is very little support. except at the back of the trunk, for the sides 5, which, by reason of the weight of the garments within the trunk and the weight of the trunk itself, have a tendency to spread or bow and to lose their planar shape thus making it difficult to properly register the locking devices 4 when the trunk is again closed,

To overcome this condition I provide the ornamental closure or door 8 with a stiff IOU metallic brace 9 which is riveted or otherwise secured to theframe 10 of the door as at 11. Further, the brace atthe hinged edge of the door is shaped to produceone leaf of a hinge 12, the other, leaf; -of said,

hinge being riveted or other wise firmly secured to the outerof the sides 5. The brace 9 extends transversely across the door alo ng the rear side of the latter and has its forward end pivotally secured as at 14 to-a latch member 15, which is arranged for engagement with a fixedeye or-hook16 provided upon the innerof the sides -5, the outer end of the latch member bein formed with a hook shaped extremity 1? designed for cooperation with the eye 16. To operate'the latchmemberyther-e is provided a pivoted bail or handle 18 formed with upper and lower trunnion shaped ends 19. This bail is positioned within a casing 20 recessed within the frame ofthe vdoor 8, andithe lower trunnion end 19 of the bail has suitably fixed thereto for rotation the latch member 15. 1 i

In operation, inorder to lock the door 8 in its closed position the latch member is swung to assume the dotted line position disclosed in Figure 2. Then, to lock the door closed the .bail 18 is moved from the dotted line position, shown in Figure 2, to the full line position. This causes the latch member to rock. about the pivotal a-Xis clefined by the lower end of the bail andto enter into hooked engagement with the eye 16 provided upon one 0f;tl1e sides 5. It will be noted that the outer endof the brace 9 is connected-to the latch member eccentrically with respect to the pivotalaxis of said latch member and that when the latch member ismoved from its locking-to its unlocking positions or vice versathe brace member will be moved equal degrees of travel across the center lines defined by the pivotal aXis of the latch member; This results in locking the latch member in either its opened or closed position and retains the parts secure against accidental dislodgment. It; would seem that this construction providesa tie between the s1des5wvh1ch Wlll securely hold the sides against bowing or sagging, and in the event thatthrough warping or other causes the said-,sides d0 sag or bend slightly, the construction described will thenserve to straighten the sides and bring the same into proper relative arrangement necessaryin locking the two sections of the trunk together.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the present invention provides a simple and effective structure for uniting the sides of a wardrobe trunk in .secured relationship so as to both-.securenand preserve=the original shape ofv the. sides toattain-the ends 7' above specified. The construction: is concealed in the door 8 and except for the operating member 18 there is nothing present in: the structure whichis in any-: way objectionable to the general; appearance oft-the ltI'lll'lk; The dooris usually. provided Witlr'a fabric covering 21 which maybe used to conceal thebrace9- a r u: r

. What is claimed is:

1. In awardrobe trunk, a wardrobe section provided withspacedlongitudinal sides, means for uniting'saidsides 'adjacentto their outer edge portions, comprisinga :closure member hinged to one ofsaid sides, a locking device] for uniting the free swinging edge of said closure to the other 'ofsaid sides, and a metallic reinforcement provided in 'connec tion with said closure providing a metallicconnection -for"dra wing said side's together along their outer edge portions' Y 2. Ina wardrobe trunk,- a wardrobe section including a pair of spaced" longitaudiv nally extending sides, a swinging =closurebe tween the outer edge portions .of said side's; i

and a metallic-reinforcement carried in con'-; nection with said closure for 'pullingsaid sides into aligned relationship. p In testimony whereof I affix my signature. ,CARL RLINDENBERG. 

